Protection of whistleblowers

Information on the receipt of notifications of possible infringements pursuant to Act No 171/2023 Coll., on the protection of whistleblowers.

Information on the receipt of notifications of possible infringements pursuant to Act No 171/2023 Coll., on the protection of whistleblowers

Internal notification system of the Confederation of Industry of the Czech Republic

The Confederation of Industry of the Czech Republic (hereinafter referred to as SPCR) has established an internal whistleblowing system pursuant to Act No. 171/2023 Coll., on the protection of whistleblowers (hereinafter referred to as the "Whistleblower Protection Act"). In order to report a possible violation, you can contact an authorised person who accepts and examines the validity of the report and subsequently proposes measures to remedy the violation.

The SPCR receives and deals with reports submitted by persons who are or have been in an employment relationship with the SPCR, or who are or have been volunteering, training or interning for the SPCR, or who have applied for a job or other similar activity with the SPCR. Section 9(2)(a) and 9(2)(b)(3) of the Act excludes the receipt of notifications from a person who does not perform work or other similar activity for the SPCR as referred to in Section 2(3)(a), (b), (h) or (i) of the Whistleblower Protection Act. For the avoidance of doubt, it is expressly stated that the receipt of notifications from members of the SPCR and members of the SPCR Expert Teams is also excluded.

The notification must include the name, surname and date of birth of the whistleblower, a contact telephone number, email, or mailing address and a description of the possible violation under the Whistleblower Protection Act.

Receiving and handling notifications

The person responsible for receiving notifications is the Secretary of the Board of Directors.

The competent person shall receive notifications submitted by:

(a) in writing - by filling in the form or by email to oznameni@spcr.cz,

b) by telephone at 734 778 004 via the voice messaging system,

c) in person - Upon request by the notifier sent to oznameni@spcr.cz, the Competent Person will accept notifications in person within a reasonable period of time, but no later than 14 days from the date of the request. If the time limit cannot be met for reasons attributable to the notifier, the competent person shall note this fact in the file.

External notification system in the Czech Republic

The external notification channel is established by the Ministry of Justice of the Czech Republic. The submission of a notification to the Ministry is not conditional on the initial submission of a notification through the internal notification system. It is entirely at the discretion of the notifier which procedure to choose.

Notification to the Ministry of Justice can be made here https://oznamovatel.justice.cz/chci-podat-oznameni/

The persons in charge of the Ministry of Justice evaluate the notification in terms of the scope of the Whistleblower Protection Act and the competence of the public authority that should deal with the notified infringement. They then forward the notifications to the public authorities (e.g. law enforcement authorities, inspection authorities, etc.) as an incentive for further investigation. However, unlike the above-mentioned competent persons, who receive and handle notifications under the internal notification system, the authorised employees of the Ministry of Justice do not carry out any investigation of the notified infringement at the organisation where it is alleged to have occurred, nor do they subsequently propose measures to prevent or remedy the identified infringement.

For more information, please visit the Czech Department of Justice website.